Godwin Kornes

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Godwin Kornes 2013 ARBEITSPAPIER – WORKING PAPER 141 Godwin Kornes Negotiating 'silent reconciliation' The long struggle for transitional justice in Namibia ARBEITSPAPIERE DES INSTITUTS FÜR ETHNOLOGIE UND AFRIKASTUDIEN WORKING PAPERS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY AND AFRICAN STUDIES AP IFEAS 141/2013 Herausgegeben von / The Working Papers are edited by: Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Forum 6, D-55099 Mainz, Germany. Tel. +49-6131-3923720; Email: [email protected]; http://www.ifeas.uni-mainz.de http://www.ifeas.uni-mainz.de/92.php Geschäftsführende Herausgeberin / Managing Editor: Eva Spies ([email protected]) Copyright remains with the author. Zitierhinweis / Please cite as: Godwin Kornes (2013) Negotiating 'silent reconciliation': The long struggle for transitional justice in Namibia. Arbeitspapiere des Instituts für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz (Working Papers of the Department of Anthropology and African Studies of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz) 141. <URL: http://www.ifeas.uni-mainz.de/Dateien/AP141.pdf>. Godwin Kornes: Negotiating 'silent reconciliation': The long struggle for transitional justice in Namibia Abstract / Zusammenfassung After more than a century of colonial rule, Namibia became an independent nation-state in 1990, since then ruled by the erstwhile armed liberation movement, SWAPO. During its 23 year-long guerrilla war against South African occupation, SWAPO was rocked by a series of internal crises and violent purges, which – just as the wide range of human rights abuses committed by the apartheid regime – have never been officially investigated. Instead, SWAPO issued blanket amnesty for both sides of the conflict and a Policy of National Reconciliation, which is based on a commitment to closure for the sake of nation-building. However, during the first years of independ- ence state security organs committed new violations which are widely seen as the expression of a ‘legacy of political violence’ under persistent impunity. In order to enforce accountability for the violations before and after independence, Namibian human rights activists continue to lobby for transitional justice procedures to be in- stalled, culminating in a highly controversial appeal to the International Criminal Court. This paper not only chron- icles this long struggle for transitional justice, but also serves to critically engage with SWAPO’s practice of ‘silent reconciliation’, which turns out to be more dynamic and accommodating than usually assumed. Nach mehr als hundert Jahren Kolonialherrschaft wurde Namibia 1990 unabhängig und wird seitdem von der ehemaligen Befreiungsbewegung SWAPO regiert. Während ihres 23jährigen Guerillakrieges gegen die südafri- kanische Besatzungsmacht kam es in den Reihen der SWAPO zu mehreren internen Krisen und ‚Säuberungsak- tionen’. Die dabei begangenen Menschenrechtsvergehen wurden – genau wie die massiven Verbrechen des Apartheidregimes – nie offiziell untersucht. Stattdessen wurde im Zuge der Unabhängigkeit eine Generalamnes- tie für beide Konfliktparteien ausgehandelt und eine nationale Versöhnungspolitik verkündet, die durch das 'aktive Vergessen' der gewaltsamen Vergangenheit charakterisiert ist. Gleichzeitig kam es jedoch auch nach der Unab- hängigkeit zu Menschenrechtsvergehen durch staatliche Sicherheitsorgane, was vielfach als Ausdruck eines 'gewaltsamen Erbes' des Befreiungskrieges gewertet wird. Die Fortdauer der Straflosigkeit wurde und wird von namibischen Menschenrechtsaktivisten mit einer Vielzahl an Maßnahmen bekämpft, die zuletzt in einem kontro- vers diskutierten Antrag an den Internationalen Strafgerichtshof gipfelten. Diesen langen Kampf um transitional justice in Namibia darzustellen, ist ein Ziel dieses Artikels. Gleichzeitig wird die von der SWAPO angewandte Praxis der 'stillen Versöhnung' untersucht, die sich als weitaus dynamischer herausstellt, als dies in der For- schungsliteratur bislang anerkannt wurde. The author: Godwin Kornes is a doctoral student at the Department of Anthropology and African Studies at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz. In the context of his dissertation project he is researching practices of national commemoration in Na- mibia, with a thematic focus on museums, memorial sites and communal memory events. E-Mail: [email protected] List of abbreviations AI Amnesty International BWS Breaking the Wall of Silence CAT United Nations Committee Against Torture CP Committee of Parents FFF Forum for the Future ICC International Criminal Court ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross ICTJ International Centre for Transitional Justice NCTJ Namibian Coalition for Transitional Justice NDF Namibian Defence Force NSHR National Society for Human Rights PCN Parents Committee of Namibia PLAN People’s Liberation Army of Namibia SWAPO South West Africa People’s Organisation SWATF South West African Territorial Force TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa UN United Nations UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNITA União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola AP IFEAS 141/2013 Negotiating 'silent reconciliation': The long struggle for transitional justice in Namibia1 “… reconciliation is a long haul and depends not on a commission but on all of us making our contribution. It is a national project after all is said and done.”(Desmond Tutu, TRC Final Report, 1998) Introduction: The ICC submission of the National Society for Human Rights In November 2006 a Namibian NGO, the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR)2, filed a submission to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by the former liberation movement, now ruling party, South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO). The incidents in question occurred both during SWAPO’s war of liberation against apartheid South Africa (1966-1989) and after independence, in the course of several military operations in the northern and north-eastern regions of Namibia (1994-1996; 1998-2003). The NSHR’s submission sparked heated debates on the question of how to come to terms with the atrocities committed both by the apartheid regime and the liberation movement. Much of the controversy was caused by the fact that the NSHR explicitly incriminated several high ranking representatives of SWAPO, due to “their respective command responsibility vis-à-vis the serious and well-documented systematic, persistent and widespread perpetration of the crimes of enforced disappearances, torture and other grave breaches of customary international law” (NSHR 2006:2). Those indicted by the NSHR were the former Deputy Commander of the People’s Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) and Chief of Defence Force until 2006, Solomon Hawala, former Minister of Defence (1998-2005) and current Minister of Works and Transport, Erkki Nghimtina, former commander of First Battalion / NDF (1994-1996), Thomas Shuuya and, most prominently, SWAPO’s icon of the liberation struggle, Sam Nujoma. Nujoma, co-founder and long standing President of the party (1960-2007), became Namibia’s first President after independence. He served three terms until 2005 and was accorded the official title Founding Father of the Namibian Nation by an act of parliament the same year. While the occurrence of the violations is by and large uncontested and representatives of SWAPO have occasionally signalled repentance and offered individual apologies (Kornes 2010:44; Tötemeyer 2010:122-3), no institutionalised measures of investigation have been implemented by the state. Regarding the pre-independence violations, this has to be seen in 1 This article is based on my M.A. thesis (Kornes 2010) for which I conducted four months of field research in Namibia in 2008, supplemented by follow-up research during 2010-2012. I wish to thank the Sulzmann Foundation Mainz, the Scholarship Foundation Rhineland-Palatinate and the German Academic Exchange Service for partly funding my research, as well as Oiva Angula, Pauline Dempers, Samson Ndeikwila and all my interlocutors for their much appreciated cooperation, especially Phil ya Nangoloh for giving me a copy of the original ICC submission; staff at the University of Namibia, the National Archives and the National Library for their immense helpfulness; as well as everyone who commented on various drafts of my thesis and this paper, which has been presented at the 4th European Conference of African Studies in Uppsala in 2011. Since my original thesis was published in German, this paper shall serve the purpose to make my research available for an English- speaking audience. At the same time it can be seen as an addendum, introducing new research findings and engaging more profoundly with the discourse on transitional justice in Namibia. 2 The NSHR changed its name to Namrights in September 2010. For reasons of clarity and coherence I will in the following continue to speak of the NSHR, especially since the ICC submission was filed under that name. 2 AP IFEAS 141/2013 context with the declaration of a Policy of National Reconciliation by SWAPO in 1989 and the subsequent adoption of blanket amnesty in the course of the transitional process. In the words of SWAPO policy-makers, the Policy of National Reconciliation is “the bedrock upon which our constitutional order is built” (Iivula-Ithana 2007), aiming at facilitating “peace and stability in a country that had been divided by apartheid policies for so long“3, by means of a collective effort “to close a dark
Recommended publications
  • COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE in Connection with Consideration of Second Periodic Report by Namibia
    SPECIAL SHADOW REPORT SUDMITTED TO: COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE In Connection With Consideration of Second Periodic Report by Namibia NAMIBIA AS A TORTURE EMPTIRE WINDHOEK NAMIBIA OCTOBER 11 2016 ABOUT NAMRIGHTS INC Formerly known as National Society for Human Rights (“NSHR”), NamRights Inc (hereinafter “NamRights”) is a private, independent, non-partisan and non-profit making human rights monitoring and advocacy organization. Founded on December 1 1989 by concerned citizens, the Organization envisages a world free of human rights violations. Its mission is to stop human rights violations in Namibia and the rest of the world. NamRights bases its legal existence on the provisions of Article 21(1) (e) of the Namibian Constitution as well as Article 71 of the UN Charter, read with Economic and Social Council Resolutions 1296 (XLIV) and E/1996/31. The Organization is lawfully registered in terms of Section 21(a) of the Companies Act 1973 (Act 61 of 1973), as amended, as an association incorporated not for gain. Both African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights of African Union (in 1993) and UN Economic and Social Council (in 1997) recognize NamRights as a bona fide human rights organization truly concerned with matters in their respective competence. The organization can be reached via this address: NamRights Liberty Center 116 John Meinert Street Windhoek-West P. O. Box 23592 Windhoek Namibia Tel: +264 61 236 183/+264 61 253 447/+264 61 238 711 Fax: +264 88 640 669/+264 61 234 286 Mobile: +264 811 406 888 E-mail1: [email protected] E-mail2: [email protected] Web: www.nshr.org.na 2 I.
    [Show full text]
  • China Daily 0911 A6.Indd
    6 namibiaspecial WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2013 CHINA DAILY Major investment in logistics drives success Namibia steps closer to being international hub With an area of nearly 825,000 square kilometers, Namibia faces a challenge as it looks to establish itself as an international logistics hub through the development of an extensive transportation network. The country is working very hard to attract substantial foreign direct investment in its road, rail, air and sea transport infrastructure and services, with the government eager for investors to transfer their skills and knowledge to the Namib- ians. Th e public works will go a long way to realizing Namibia’s goal of becoming a major logistics hub for the Southern African Development Community. “We need to build roads and con- struct efficient railways between Namibia and Botswana, Zambia There are a lot of NAMCOR entered the and Angola,” said President Hifi ke- opportunities to invest logistics, marketing punye Pohamba. “Work has already in the transportation and and distribution sectors PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY started on this network and will ‘‘ ‘‘ Namibia’s government has given the green light to investment in transport infrastructure, such as railways. serve as an attraction to investors to construction sectors. We of the business through the region.” want to be a hub for the participation in of logistics by working with the rel- strongly on price, which ultimately development, we must not focus A key goal of NDP4, the nation’s southern region.” fuel tenders.” evant government agencies, minis- drives down the costs of infra- only on the physical construction development blueprint, is that by tries and government-owned cor- structure projects — a plus for the part, we need to start from the ERKKI NGHIMTINA OBETH MBUI KANDJOZE 2017, “the volume of cargo han- MINISTER OF WORKS AND TRANSPORT MANAGING DIRECTOR, NAMCOR porations as well as private-sector economy.
    [Show full text]
  • Major Trollope and the Eastern Caprivi Zipfel One Night As He Lay
    Conference Paper for ABORNE 2009. Please do not cite vilify or pillage without at least talking to me. Beyond the Last Frontier: Major Trollope and the Eastern Caprivi Zipfel One night as he lay sleeping on the veranda of his residence in Katima Mulilo Major L.F.W. Trollope, the Native Commissioner and Resident Magistrate for the Eastern Caprivi Zipfel, was attacked by a nineteen year old wielding an axe. Major Trollope survived the attack and the assailant was soon arrested, but in the subsequent trial the “plum posting” that Trollope had created on the furthermost frontier of South African rule came crashing down. The trial brought to the fore that Trollope lived beyond the control of the South African administration to which he was formally subject, and that instead he had become enmeshed in the administrations of Northern Rhodesia and the Bechuanaland Protectorate. Originally appointed to Katima Mulilo to enforce South African rule in the Eastern Caprivi Zipfel, Trollope increasingly established his own fiefdom on the outer fringes of South African rule, and became evermore integrated in the administrations of countries beyond the borders of South Africa. By the time of his demise, Trollope ruled the Eastern Caprivi Zipfel in a manner that had more in keeping with the academically schooled coterie of District Commissioners of Northern Rhodesia and the Bechuanaland Protectorate, than that it bore relation to the apartheid securocrats of the South African Bantu Affairs Department to which he was nominally subject. Beyond the frontier Even amongst the arbitrarily drawn borders of Africa, the borders of the Namibian Caprivi strip are a striking anomaly jutting 500 kilometres into the African continent.
    [Show full text]
  • Namibia QER Q1 2020 Namibia Quarterly Economic Review January-March 2020
    Namibia QER Q1 2020 Namibia Quarterly Economic Review January-March 2020 Quarter News Key Data Special Summary Highlights Economic Trends Feature Variables 1 5 9 12 14 Quarter Summary Macroeconomic Situation – going into an unprecedented global crisis from a position of extreme weakness The latest preliminary national accounts for 2019 confirm what everyone suspected – Namibia’s economy has experienced four of its worst years since Independence. 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 GDP growth 4.5% -0.3% -0.3% 0.7% -1.1% Recent pronouncements by local and international authorities that 2020 will see the resumption of modest growth have now been overtaken by events. The corona virus pandemic will, in the short to medium-term at least, severely affect economic performance and put significant strain on Namibia’s public finances which were already in poor shape. Efforts to get the economy through the immediate crisis will take precedence over efforts at reform. Namibia went into the global financial crisis in a relatively strong position from a fiscal and monetary point of view. This time is very different. New Cabinet Appointed On 16 March President Geingob announced a new government structure and on 22 March announced his new Cabinet and related appointments. The two Cabinets and appointments are summarised below taking into account the resignations of Bernhard Esau and Sacky Shangala over Fishrot and Katrina Hanse-Hamarwa over corruption in 2019. Old Cabinet New Cabinet Office of the President Office of the President 1 The Namibia Quarterly Economic Review is compiled by the Institute for Public Policy Research and is financially supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
    [Show full text]
  • S V Mushwena and Others
    CASE NO.: SA 6/2004 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NAMIBIA In the matter between THE STATE APPELLANT versus MOSES LIMBO MUSHWENA 1ST RESPONDENT (ACC 12) FRED MAEMELO ZIEZO 2ND RESPONDENT (ACC 25) ANDREAS MULUPA 3RD RESPONDENT (ACC 26) RICHARD LIBANO MISUHA 4TH RESPONDENT (ACC 48) OSCAR MUYUKA KUSHALUKA PUTEHO 5TH RESPONDENT (ACC 49) RICHARD JOHN SAMATI 6TH RESPONDENT (ACC 53) JOHN SIKUNDEKO SAMBOMA 7TH RESPONDENT (ACC 54) OSBERT MWENYI LIKANYI 8TH RESPONDENT (ACC 57) THADEUS SIYOKA NDALA 9TH RESPONDENT (ACC 70) MARTIN SIYANO TUBAUNDULE 10 TH RESPONDENT (ACC 71) OSCAR NYAMBE PUTEHO 11 TH RESPONDENT (ACC 72) CHARLES MAFENYAHO MUSHAKWA 12 TH RESPONDENT (ACC 73) CHARLES KALIPA SAMBOMA 13 TH RESPONDENT (ACC 119) CORAM: Strydom, ACJ, O'Linn, AJA, Mtambanengwe, AJA, Gibson, AJA et Chomba, AJA. HEARD ON: 10-12/05/2004 DELIVERED ON: ____________________________________________________________________________ APPEAL JUDGMENT ____________________________________________________________________________ 2 MTAMBANENGWE A.J.A.: The state appeals against Hoff J's judgment in favour of the thirteen respondents that the court did not have jurisdiction to try them. The application leading to the court a quo's ruling began as an application on notice of motion supported by various affidavits deposed by the respondents. The notice of motion sought an order declaring inter alia that the respondents apprehension and abduction from Zambia and Botswana respectively, and their subsequent transportation to Namibia and their arrest and detention pursuant thereto was in breach of international law, unlawful and that they had not been properly and lawfully arraigned before the court for trial on the charge preferred against them. The court a quo directed that the notice of motion and the supporting affidavits be regarded as respondents pleas in terms of section 106 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Act 57 of 1977, namely that the court a quo had not jurisdiction to try the 13 respondents.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rule of Law in Namibia Sam K Amoo and Isabella Skeffers
    The rule of law in Namibia Sam K Amoo and Isabella Skeffers Introduction The Republic of Namibia, as the country is now known, was declared a German Protectorate in 1884 and a Crown Colony in 1890, and thereafter became known as South West Africa. The territory remained a German colony from 1884 until 1915, when it was occupied by South African forces. From 1920 onwards the territory became a Protectorate, or a Mandated Territory of South Africa in terms of the Peace Treaty of Versailles. Namibia achieved its independence in 1990 after a long and protracted struggle, on both diplomatic and military fronts, for the achievement of self-determination and sovereignty. The South African Administration was characterised by patent abuse of the human rights of the indigenous people of Namibia. Apartheid, as a political system, is inconsistent with the rule of law; consequently, any political or a legal system based on apartheid will be devoid of the rule of law. This was the basic characteristic of the South African Administration in Namibia. It was devoid of the rule of law and legitimised by the decisions of a judiciary that justified the racist policies and violations of the rule of law on legislative supremacy and analytical positivism. With the achievement of sovereignty and self-determination, however, Namibia adopted a Constitution which is the supreme law of the nation, and ushered in the principle of constitutional supremacy and a system of governance based on the principles of constitutionalism, the rule of law, and respect for the human rights of the individual. Constitution The Namibian Constitution came into force on the eve of the country’s independence as the supreme law of the land and, therefore, the ultimate source of law in Namibia.
    [Show full text]
  • Namibia Page 1 of 9
    Namibia Page 1 of 9 Namibia Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2006 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 6, 2007 Namibia is a multiparty, multiracial democracy with a population of 2,030,000. On March 21, Hifikepunye Pohamba became the country's second democratically elected president; Pohamba was elected in November 2004 and replaced Sam Nujoma, the country's first president and leader of the ruling South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO). International and domestic observers agreed the 2004 general elections, in which SWAPO won three-quarters of the national assembly seats, were generally free and reflected the will of the electorate despite some irregularities. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces. The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were problems in several areas. Human rights problems included: unlawful killings, torture, beatings, and abuse of criminal suspects and detainees by security forces; overcrowded prisons; prolonged pretrial detention and long delays in trials; government attempts to curb media and nongovernmental (NGO) criticism; violence against women and children, including rape and child abuse; discrimination against women, ethnic minorities, and indigenous peoples; and child labor. RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From: a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life The government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however, security forces killed persons during the year. The government took action against some perpetrators. On January 21, police shot and killed Collen Goliath after he was caught trying to break into the offices of the Ministry of Labor.
    [Show full text]
  • Constitutional Democracy in Namibia
    Constitutional democracy in Namibia A critical analysis after two decades Edited by Anton Bösl, Nico Horn & André du Pisani A This publication would not have been possible without the generous financial support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Please note that the views expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and of the editors. Konrad Adenauer Foundation P.O. Box 1145 Windhoek [email protected] www.kas.de/namibia © Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung and the Authors 2010 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. Cover design: Red Sky and Anton Bösl Content editors: Anton Bösl, Nico Horn & André du Pisani Language editor: Sandie Fitchat Printing: John Meinert Printing (Pty) Ltd Publisher Macmillan Education Namibia PO Box 22830 Windhoek Namibia Tel. (+264 61) 225568 ISBN 978-99916-2-439-6 B Table of contents Foreword .......................................................................................................................iii Peter H Katjavivi Introduction .................................................................................................................... v Anton Bösl, Nico Horn and André du Pisani List of contributors ......................................................................................................xiii
    [Show full text]
  • The Namibian Defence Force from 1990–2005
    Evolutions10a.qxd 2005/09/28 12:08 PM Page 199 CHAPTER EIGHT Promoting national reconciliation and regional integration: The Namibian Defence Force from 1990–2005 Gwinyayi Dzinesa & Martin Rupiya INTRODUCTION The colonial experience in Namibia was brutal and harsh. For the purposes of this chapter—which seeks to document the post-colonial military history of Namibia—a brief discussion of events spanning the period circa 1884 to independence in 1990 is essential. HISTORIC OVERVIEW The geography of Namibia is unique in the Southern African region. With a total land mass of 825,418 km², Namibia’s climate is hot and dry, measuring the lowest rainfall in the region, with large parts of the country being desert. Only 1% of the land area is arable, confined to the north, with 46% pastures and 22% forests and wood. The rest is harsh, rocky and dry.1 Namibia has a 1,572 km Atlantic Ocean coastline along its western edge on which a number of harbours and ports have been established; these include Oranjemund, Ludertiz, Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. While the country lacks vegetation and is hilly and sparse, it contains a generous range of minerals from diamonds, copper, uranium and gold, to lead, tin, lithium, zinc, salt, vanadium, natural gas, suspected oil deposits, coal and iron. The area first witnessed European interest from Portuguese explorers in the late 15th century, followed by Afrikaner traders during the 17th century, and German missionaries and traders dealing in ivory and cattle at the turn of the 19th century. Their presence was later followed by a 199 Evolutions10a.qxd 2005/09/28 12:08 PM Page 200 200 Evolutions & Revolutions growing trade in diamonds and copper.
    [Show full text]
  • Location of Polling Stations, Namibia
    GOVERNMENT GAZETTE OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA N$34.00 WINDHOEK - 7 November 2014 No. 5609 CONTENTS Page PROCLAMATIONS No. 35 Declaration of 28 November 2014 as public holiday: Public Holidays Act, 1990 ............................... 1 No. 36 Notification of appointment of returning officers: General election for election of President and mem- bers of National Assembly: Electoral Act, 2014 ................................................................................... 2 GOVERNMENT NOTICES No. 229 Notification of national voters’ register: General election for election of President and members of National Assembly: Electoral Act, 2014 ............................................................................................... 7 No. 230 Notification of names of candidates duly nominated for election as president: General election for election of President and members of National Assembly: Electoral Act, 2014 ................................... 10 No. 231 Location of polling stations: General election for election of President and members of National Assembly: Electoral Act, 2014 .............................................................................................................. 11 No. 232 Notification of registered political parties and list of candidates for registered political parties: General election for election of members of National Assembly: Electoral Act, 2014 ...................................... 42 ________________ Proclamations by the PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA No. 35 2014 DECLARATION OF 28 NOVEMBER 2014 AS PUBLIC HOLIDAY: PUBLIC HOLIDAYS ACT, 1990 Under the powers vested in me by section 1(3) of the Public Holidays Act, 1990 (Act No. 26 of 1990), I declare Friday, 28 November 2014 as a public holiday for the purposes of the general election for 2 Government Gazette 7 November 2014 5609 election of President and members of National Assembly under the Electoral Act, 2014 (Act No. 5 of 2014). Given under my Hand and the Seal of the Republic of Namibia at Windhoek this 6th day of November, Two Thousand and Fourteen.
    [Show full text]
  • Constitutional Democracy in Namibia
    Constitutional jurisprudence in Namibia since Independence George Coleman and Esi Schimming-Chase Introduction Administrative bodies and administrative officials who are capable of making decisions affecting the citizens should always bear in mind that, by the adoption of the Constitution of Namibia, we have been propelled from a culture of authority to a culture of justification.1 The above is a profound departure from the following:2 Whether or not any legislative measure is calculated to promote or to harm these interests of the inhabitants, would be a matter of policy in the discretion of Parliament, into which our Courts would decline to enquire. These two statements by judges 37 years apart not only reflect the evolution of the legal culture in Namibia since Independence, they also manifest the jurisprudential polarity between a natural law approach and legal positivism.3 According to some South African academics, positivism, as a legal theory, is to blame for the terrible track record of the judiciary in respect of the protection of civil liberties in apartheid South Africa4 (and, by extension, Namibia prior to Independence). This is chillingly demonstrated in R v Sachs, where the following was stated:5 Courts of law do scrutinise such statutes with the greatest care but where the statute under consideration in clear terms confers on the Executive autocratic powers over individuals, courts of law have no option but to give effect to the will of the Legislature as expressed in the statute. Where, however, the statute is reasonably capable of more than one meaning a court of law will give it the meaning which least interferes with the liberty of the individual.
    [Show full text]
  • Government Gazette Republic of Namibia
    GOVERNMENT GAZETTE OF THE REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA N$2.00 WINDHOEK - 18 March 2005 No.3399 CONTENTS Page GOVERNMENT NOTICE No. 31 Electoral Act, 1992: Notification of result of general election for members of the National Assembly ............................................................................................................................... 1 _________________ Government Notice ELECTORAL COMMISSION No. 31 2005 ELECTORAL ACT, 1992: NOTIFICATION OF RESULT OF GENERAL ELECTION FOR MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY In terms of section 92(1) of the Electoral Act, 1992 (Act No. 24 of 1992), the particulars, in respect of the result of the general election for members of the National Assembly held on 15 November 2004 and 16 November 2004, which have been announced by the Director of Elections in terms of section 89 of that Act, are published by indicating – (a) in Column 1 of Schedule 1, the total number of votes counted and the total number of rejected ballot papers; (b) in Column 2 of Schedule 1, the appropriate quota of votes required for a seat in the National Assembly; (c) in Column 3 of Schedule 1, the names of the political parties which took part in the election; (d) in Column 4 of Schedule 1, the number of votes recorded for each of the political parties; (e) in Column 5 of Schedule 1, the number of seats in the National Assembly to which each political party shall be entitled; 2 Government Gazette 18 March 2005 No.3399 (f) in Column 1 of Schedule 2, the names of the political parties which nominated the elected candidates; and (g) in Column 2 of Schedule 2, the names of the candidates declared duly elected as members of the National Assembly with effect from 21 March 2005.
    [Show full text]